Transcript
We'll Take you there
All That We Know
The Vanishing of Mike Rust number 35 $8.95 US $9.95 CAN www.mountainflyer.com
Survivor of Survivors Lindsey Voreis
Damn the Momos Underfueled in Nepal
There’s No BS
Display until April 30, 2014
Built Into A Soulcraft
_mf tested
domahidy _853 29er
Weight: 23 lbs Price: $4,999 www.DomahidyDesigns.com
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Brian Riepe
A FRIEND RECENTLY ASKED ME TO RECOMMEND A GOOD CARBON HARDTAIL. My answer: “It wouldn’t be carbon.” Carbon race bikes have their place, but nothing beats the decades of durability and fatigue damping qualities you get from ferrous metal. And when it comes down to it, no frame material has as many years of research and development behind it as today’s steel alloys. I have always loved the ride qualities of steel, and that appreciation has only been made stronger by the recent experiences I’ve had riding this new Domahidy Designs 853 29er. On Feb. 21 of this year, Steve Domahidy—a designer and co-founder of Niner Bikes and known recently for his award-winning Vis Vires road bike design for Factor Bikes—officially announced his own brand, Domahidy Designs. “I’ve been working on this brand for two years,” Domahidy says. “I’m incredibly excited to share it with the public.” Using Kickstarter as the stage for launch, the brand will start with two 29er hardtails available in Reynolds 853 and triple butted 3/2.5 titanium. “I’ve walked around the booths of the
North American Handmade Bicycle Show and marveled at the products,” Domahidy says. “I wanted to launch a line of production bikes with the same level of quality and attention to detail as those found at NAHBS, just without the wait and price tag.” For the Kickstarter campaign, Domahidy is offering frames in both steel and titanium. Five frames of each material will be custompainted to the customers’ specs by Spectrum Powder Works, giving each person a one-of-akind frame. In addition to the custom-painted frames, the campaign will also include the Reynolds 853 in a special edition light green paint scheme available as a frame or complete SRAM XX1 Gripshift build. In August 2013, just in time for fall riding in the high country, we received a production Domahidy 853 XX1 build in the Kickstarter green paint job, giving us the chance to log more than 400 glorious miles on it before the snow began to fly. With the XX1 build, this 23-pound racer was a pound or two heavier than a comparable carbon rig, but the smooth ride was so worth it. When designing the 853, Domahidy drew on nearly a decade of working directly with UK-based tubing maker Reynolds Technology on its flagship 853 DZB tubing. The new DZB tube set is a complex alloy containing carbon, manganese, chrome, molybdenum, silicon and copper. The tube has increased wall thickness at the head tube, tapers radically at the middle for weight reduction
and increases again at the bottom bracket. Each butting profile and wall thickness was designed specifically for 29-inch bikes and allows for increased strength without the need for gussets. For the 853 frame, Domahidy chose a slightly larger diameter tube set than with his previous steel designs at Niner. “Although the larger diameter tube set increases weight, it also increases torsional stiffness,” Domahidy says. “I’m able to get the compliance I want out of the rear end tube shaping and spec, but the front triangle benefits from the larger diameter steel in steering precision and flickability.” Weight for a medium Domahidy Designs 853 frame comes in at 5.25 pounds and features contemporary details including a true, machined tapered head tube (a distinct difference from the straight 44 mm can found on most tapered compatible steel and titanium frames), and 142x12 mm sliding, belt-drive-friendly, thru-axle dropouts. Each frame comes with two dropouts (with or without a derailleur hanger), and replacement bolts to fill cable guide holes while running single speed. Opting for a 73 mm threaded bottom bracket over a narrower press fit makes for simple compatibility, ample tire clearance, and a wide and stiff bottom bracket shell. The details of the frame, from the headtube to the dropouts, are thoughtfully executed for performance, compatibility and ease of maintenance. The geometry on our size medium test bike was dialed for racing 67
Brian Riepe
and hard-charging XC rides. With the slider dropouts, the chainstay length is 435 mm in its shortest position, making for a quick handling, snappy rear end and a generous amount of adjustability for larger diameter tires or ride preference. With a 407 mm reach and 620 mm stack the cockpit isn’t too stretched out, and the front end stays nice and low. With a 100 mm fork, the headtube angle comes in at a relatively standard 71 degrees. The full XX1 spec is just flat out remarkable, and the bike is adorned with a list of other high-quality, race-ready components including Race Face bar, stem and seatpost, Schwalbe Rocket Rons, and a Rock Shox Sid RCT3 fork. Our test bike came with SRAM Rise 60 carbon wheels, which were light and fast, but the Kickstarter bike will be spec’d instead with “welterweight” Industry Nine Trail 24 wheels featuring 28 mm rims and a unique 24 hole, 2/1 lacing pattern to reduce rotational weight. Riding the Domahidy was a pleasure in a way only a steel hardtail can be. With the wide-diameter 853 tube set and XX1 drivetrain, the bike responds to pedal force with a snap of acceleration, the handling is quick and solid, and trail chatter is reduced to a dull whisper. It’s a finely tuned combination of good old steel and the finest high tech materials and design features available to man. 68
For my final ride on the Domahidy 853, I met Steve for a late fall ride on the Monarch Crest Trail. The high country had received more than a sprinkling of snow a week earlier, and we had our fingers crossed that most of it had melted away. Our wish turned out to at least partly come true. Most of the trail was dry, but several wind-affected and northfacing zones had up to 8 inches of slushy, melting snow. A motorcycle had pushed through before us, leavening a narrow slot through the deeper drifts, but the riding was more challenging than normal. What could have been a relatively easy four-hour venture turned out to be more like six and half. With Steve on the titanium version and me on the steel we slogged through a few hours of snow drifts and cold wet conditions on the ridge before gaining the Silver Creek Trail and dropping down to the Rainbow Trail. By hour six I was starting to bonk. It was all I could do to get up the final, rolling climbs on the Rainbow Trail. At this point, a little suspension would have been welcome but the next best thing was this 23 pound 29er with the pleasant and forgiving ride of steel. The Domahidy shined like polished steel on the fast, sweeping dreams that define the Rainbow Trail. Accelerating out of the corners was almost as fun as laying the bike over through the apex. Carrying
speed through the rollers and small fields of rock was painless with the great geometry and, again, the compliance of steel. The first bikes available from Domahidy Designs will be 29ers, although Domahidy already has plans for 27.5 wheel size options for XS and small-sized frames of both models. Those frame sizes will be available later in the year. The Kickstarter campaign began on Feb. 21. A link to the campaign can be found at DomahidyDesigns.com. The stock blue Reynolds 853 frame and the stock titanium frame will be priced at $899 and $1,799. The green frame tested will be a special color for Kickstarter backers only and will be $999. The complete XX1 bikes will be $4,999 for the Kickstarter green Reynolds bike and $5,799 for the titanium bike. When I handed the bike back to Steve in Poncha Springs where we had parked, it was plastered with a generous coating of ice and mud, the drivetrain looked like maybe it was done and the fork would be needing service soon. But other than a few scratches in the paint, that frame will be good for another decade or two. After that, who knows, some teenage kid will find it in the back of a garage somewhere and turn it into one kick ass fixie. One thing is for sure: It will never die. –B. Riepe
